Summer months create blood donations for local Red Cross

Monday

Jul 28, 2014 at 12:01 AM

Blood donations have dropped off significantly this summer and could cause an emergency situation in the coming weeks if donations are not immediately received, said Leigh Brock, regional communications director of the American Red Cross in Greensboro.

BY DAVID EXUMThe Dispatch

Blood donations have dropped off significantly this summer and could cause an emergency situation in the coming weeks if donations are not immediately received, said Leigh Brock, regional communications director of the American Red Cross in Greensboro.While the Red Cross does all it can to prepare for blood shortages during the summer months, Brock said the lack of donations is caused by donors either being on vacation, or being off their schedule entirely. Over the past 11 weeks, Brock indicated that usual blood donations the Red Cross count on have decreased by 8 percent, resulting in 80,000 fewer donations. Brock also said the Red Cross cannot count on the steady supply of blood it receives from area colleges, high schools and universities during the summer months. When school is in session, the Red Cross typically receives donations twice a year from these types of institutions. "We just don't have those blood drives going on, and that's huge," Brock said.People who routinely donate blood to the Red Cross do so on a 56-day schedule. When that schedule is interrupted, Brock said it creates shortages that the agency has a difficult time dealing with during the summer months. A typical donation equals one pint of blood, which has the power to save three lives. The Red Cross delivers blood to area hospitals 24-hours a day, seven days a week.Besides the use of blood for victims of accidents or natural disasters, blood is also used on a daily basis for people undergoing surgeries. Brock also said the Red Cross doesn't just need blood, it also needs platelets — a component of blood that stops bleeding. The replacement of platelets is crucial for a person undergoing chemotherapy for cancer treatment. "When a person receives chemotherapy, it kills off all these platelets," Brock said. "The patient then doesn't have a means to clot their blood."The platelets are also used for burn victims, and bone marrow recipients. Constant donations of platelets are also important because they only have a shelf life of five days. Donors interested in giving platelets may do so every seven days."It's a little bit of a different process from giving blood, but it's definitely needed just as much," Brock said. Brock urged healthy residents throughout Davidson County to consider attending a local blood drive."Think of all the great things that doctors and medical scientists have done," Brock said. "People can be involved in horrible accidents, and be basically repaired. (Doctors) can work miracles, pretty much, but doctors and scientists can't make human blood. The only way we can get blood, is through a donor, and when people need blood they can't get it unless someone donates it."When giving blood, not only are donors helping the needs of others, they also receive a mini physical examination to check their pulse, blood pressure, body temperature and hemoglobin (molecules in red blood cells that carry oxygen). Kathy Sushereba, communications director at Wake Forest Baptist Health — Lexington Medical Center, said blood and blood products are critical to all hospitals."It is needed for life-saving emergency transfusions, as well as surgeries and in patients afflicted with a variety of blood disorders," Sushereba said. Sushereba also said Lexington Medical Center has been able to obtain necessary blood products from the Red Cross, but realizes that an impending shortage of certain blood types could impact availability."Blood donations typically decline during the summer months, but the demand for blood remains constant," Sushereba said. "I encourage everyone to become a blood donor by either contacting the Red Cross or participating in one of the locally sponsored blood drives held in Davidson County."Lexington Medical Center will hold a blood drive Aug. 26 for employees and the public. From Aug. 1-19, there will be eight blood drives scheduled in the Lexington area. David Exum can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 227, or at dave.exum@the-dispatch.com. Follow David on Twitter: @LexDisptachExum

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.